


Coming Together (Falling Apart)

by Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa)



Series: Eirlyssa's 2019 Bingo Fills [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Family, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Implied/Referenced Torture, POV Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Team, Team Feels, Team as Family, Tony Stark Bingo 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-01-15 02:56:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18489883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eirlyssa/pseuds/Iron_Eirlyssa
Summary: Steve wasn't quite sure how to get out of this situation, but hedidfigure their best chance was if they did it together. Not everyone seems to agree with that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A story in three parts, for the Tony Stark Bingo. This chapter is square T1 - Prisoners/captives together. I hope you all enjoy!

One hour.

That was how long they had to decide which one of them would be tortured.

Steve looked around at the others, trying to figure out what they were thinking. Natasha appeared impassive as she usually did, no doubt trying to figure out what would be the best way to deal with this. Clint was watching her, clenching and unclenching his fists but appearing rather calm. Tony seemed the most restless, as usual, eyes flitting around in search of a way out of here but not finding any. All of them had been dressed in hospital scrubs, none of their gear still on them.

Whatever they had given him, he still felt rather weak. It had initially knocked Steve out completely, to the point where Clint had been the one to tell him what had happened during the rest of the fight.

Apparently, their enemy had been prepared for them.

They’d managed to distract both the Hulk and Thor away from the rest of them, before hitting Steve with something that had dropped him soon after. Clint had been snuck up on, and they’d been prepared for Tony trying to help him. There were a few bruises on him from the fall down, even with the ineffective armor around him. Natasha had been the final one, and Steve half-suspected she had allowed herself to be taken in order to improve their chances.

For now, though, they needed to make a decision - either give one of their own up, or stand together and figure it out that way.

“I say we tell them no,” he declared. “Offering up one of us is just a way to try to split us up.”

“Yeah, how about we don’t?” Tony argued. He seemed alright, but there was a slight note of panic in his voice. “They said it was one of us or all of us, and there is _no_ reason for all of us to get tortured.”

“So what, you want to offer up one of us to get hurt?” Clint’s eyes were narrowed, his fists clenched once again.

“I do, in fact.” After a few seconds of stunned silence, he continued. “I’m Iron Man, sure, but outside of the suit, I’m just a regular, unenhanced _civilian_. You are _trained_ to withstand interrogation - I’m not. We’ve got no idea what they want, or which one of us can give it to them, but I say we send in _anyone but me_.”

“Right, take yourself out of the line of fire,” Clint sneered.

Taking a deep breath, Steve tried to calm himself down. The last thing they wanted to do now was turn on one another. “We need to stand _together_ in this, everyone. I can’t stand here and consciously set one of you up to be tortured while the rest of us remains safe.”

“You’d rather send us _all_ to be tortured instead?” Tony sounded incredulous now. “I _can’t_ go in there. Natasha, you _get that_ , right?” He looked straight at her, ignoring Steve and Clint both.

“You can’t, but the rest of us _can_?” By now, Clint sounded angry, and Steve couldn’t entirely blame him.

Before anyone else could speak up, though, Natasha finally voiced an opinion. “Tony is right.” That had both Steve and Clint silent, staring at her, though Steve could see Tony nodding from the corner of his eye. “He’s a civilian, not trained for interrogation techniques. We’re better off with any of us going in there than having them take him.”

“We’re supposed to be a _team_ ,” Steve insisted.

“That’s going to do us little good if they get everything they need from him within the first hour of torture.” Finally, Natasha turned away from Tony, first to nod at Clint and then to face Steve. He noticed the way Clint settled, a frown on his face. “I don’t like it all that much either, but we need to think of the bigger picture here, and that means we can’t let them take Tony.”

Steve shook his head. “This isn’t right.”

“Nothing about this is _right_.” He could see the tension in Tony’s shoulders. “We’re being held captive and we’ve got no idea who they are or what they want. And until we figure that out, we _might_ want to make sure I don’t instantly give them what they want and let me work on finding a way out of here.”

He still didn’t like it. Not at all. “If we stick together, go out there together, chances are we’ll be able to find a way out quicker.”

“Or it could mean we’re all impaired one way or another, depending on what kind of torture they intend to use and how secure their restraints are. If one of you figures out what this is all about, maybe gets some notes on the layout and everything, then we’ll have something to work with. And trust me, I’m way more useful when not hurting and terrified,” Tony insisted again.

“Agreed.” Natasha didn’t look all that happy about it, either, but Steve could see the determination in her eyes. “We want him back here, collecting the information we give him and figuring out a way out of here. _Especially_ since we don’t know what they want. I say I go in - I’ve been trained to withstand torture and to gather information during it.” Now, she smiled wryly. “And I can pretend to give in a little as well, act as though they’re getting what they want while figuring out a way out of here.”

“No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Tony’s smart, but so are you. I can’t pick a lock, and they’ve given me something to get my strength down. But with the Serum, I heal faster than the rest of you, and I can deal with the torture as well as getting information.”

He could see Tony relaxing in his own cell when it became clear that he wasn’t going to be the one offered up, heaving out a big sigh. Clint, off to the other side, grimaced.

“I mean, out of the three of us I’m probably the least useful?” he ended up offering, shrugging. “Once you’ve got your strength back you’re the strongest, and between the two of us Nat is the better short-range fighter. I mean, I’d _still_ argue that without his armor, Tony’s actually the _least_ useful when it comes to fighting our way out of here, but I _guess_ I can see why he _might_ be the easiest to break.”

“As team leader, I think I should be the one to go.” Steve _seriously_ did not like the idea of sending any of his teammates off to get tortured, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that he thought it would be better to stick together, he’d have offered himself up from the beginning.

“I have literally been trained for this,” Natasha argued, though not as passionately as he knew she was capable of - considering this was volunteering for torture, that was understandable.

“Well, considering you’re the only one _not_ volunteering,” Clint sneered at Tony, “what would you figure?”

As Tony appeared to seriously consider the question, Steve tried to calm himself down somewhat. While he didn’t like any of this, and while he couldn’t help but feel like something was _off_ about his fearfulness, it did accentuate that Tony was actually a civilian who was not prepared for situations like these.

“I think they’d be suspicious if we sent in Natasha. These guys aren’t stupid - they probably know at least something about her reputation, so they might suspect that we’re up to something. If we send in Cap, they’d probably be the least surprised. He’s the leader, after all, and he wouldn’t just go let someone else on his team be tortured without there being some benefit to it, not if it means he’s not being hurt. And they might think that we’re hoping whatever they gave him will wear off during the torture, though they’re probably too well-prepared for something that basic to go wrong.”

“They _might_ have - ”

Before Steve could finish his sentence, Natasha interrupted him with a look in her eyes he couldn’t quite place. “Tony’s right, they’re way too well-prepared. These people _know_ what they’re doing. Our best chance is to figure out what they want, and to get some idea of the layout of this place. In the worst case, we might end up having to wait for someone else to find us.”

While Steve couldn’t place it, he knew enough about Natasha that this was a very significant hint that there was something going on. And he might not be the best at covert ops, or lying, but he _could_ play along with someone who was. “I can definitely do that,” he nodded.

“Alright, then we are agreed. Steve is the one who goes, while we work on a way to get out of here,” Natasha nodded.

Clint huffed, though agreeing as well. “ _Why_ did we have a civilian in our elite group, again?” he grumbled, throwing a narrow-eyed look at Tony. “At least Bruce has the Hulk - get you out of the suit, and really, what do you contribute again?”

“Paying for all of your toys, for one,” Tony sneered right back. “You want me to cut you off the money?”

“Calm down, both of you,” Natasha told them. “Clint, you _know_ Iron Man is too useful for us not to bring him in. We were all aware from the start that it also meant bringing in Tony, considering he won’t let anyone else have the armor, and we were also aware what that would mean when it came to teamwork, _remember_?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Clint groaned, settling down. “Iron Man: Recommended, Tony Stark: Not Recommended.”

Tony snarled at both of them, but he didn’t speak up. It all _seemed_ very genuine, but Steve had known the lot of them for a while now, and there was something very _off_ about the interaction between the three of them. That was the second hint he got that something was not as it seemed.

The final, and probably worst hint, came when their hour was up and their kidnappers came back in, masks still covering their faces. They didn’t even wait for any of them to talk or say who they had chosen - instead, they walked straight for the cell Tony was in, two of them holding up tasers and the third playing with some handcuffs. “Our boss wants to speak to you, Mr Stark,” the one with the handcuffs spoke up.

“Wait, no,” Tony told them, eyes wide.

In the cell besides Steve’s, Natasha had jumped up. “He’s not the one we picked,” she told them, voice appearing calm but trembling ever-so-slightly in a way that she would only ever allow on purpose.

“Hold up, hey!” Steve himself yelled. He might not know what was going on, but he knew his own role in it. “No, we picked me! Take me!”

Even Clint had gotten up, a mixture of resentment and confusion that was just a little too obvious to be real, but only because Steve _knew_ him. He had no doubts that their kidnappers would take it at face value. “The hell happened to choosing, huh?”

“Plans have changed,” was all the guy told them, not even looking at them. Instead he approached Tony, who had retreated in the corner of his cell and was looking around frantically. “Now shut up.”

No matter that he was a civilian, Steve _knew_ Tony was strong enough to do some damage, to struggle harder. He might not be enhanced, but he did a lot of his own heavy lifting in the workshop, and Steve knew there was more to him than just the ‘playboy businessman’ he often liked to show to the world. Besides that, he also knew that Tony had trained with his own bodyguard as well as with Natasha, so he wouldn’t be _completely_ defenseless in the suit.

He cursed himself mentally for not realizing it before. Somehow, someway, their kidnappers were keeping tabs on them. And Tony and Natasha had done exactly what they had needed to do in order to make the kidnappers regard Tony as the weak link in order to have them take him.

Regarding Tony as the weak link, and making them underestimate the Avengers in general and Tony in particular.

The realization flashed through him, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he tried calling out a few more times, nearly _begging_ them to take him instead, please. Natasha and Clint both tried their own approach, Natasha cajoling and a little fearful while Clint took a more vitriolic approach that was almost a parody of his usual sarcastic humor.

Tony tried putting up a token resistance and making a show of being sarcastic while being afraid as they dragged him to the door, and the rest of them couldn’t do anything but watch as it slammed shut behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fills square S2 - Whump for the Tony Stark Bingo, though it's not too graphic. I hope you like it!!

It was silent for a few moments. Then, Clint cursed. “Fuck.” He slammed his palm into the bars of his cell. “Now what?”

“Now, we hope that Tony doesn’t know what they want to know. And if he does, well… Let’s just hope he doesn’t break instantly,” Natasha sighed, and the slight apprehension on her face was real.

All of their talking had just sent Tony straight into whatever tortures their kidnappers had planned. Steve just hoped it was worth it.

Still, even _knowing_ , he knew it wasn’t over yet. Most likely, they were still being monitored just in case. And if they were, well… Steve had never been the kind of person to just give up, was _known_ for trying and trying and trying until he physically couldn’t anymore. And he still could.

Clasping his hands around the bars of his cell, he started pulling. Whatever they had given him was still in effect, though, so they didn’t move an inch.

“What are you _doing_?” Clint asked him, voice somewhere between incredulous and angry.

Huffing, Steve pulled again. “I’m _trying_. Because they’ve got Tony, and whatever they want, it _can’t_ be good. So I have to try to get out, one way or another.” Calculating silently, he threw his shoulder into the bars hard enough to make it look serious, but not enough to get himself injured. “I can’t just _sit here and wait_.”

For some moments, there was just silence. Then, Natasha sighed again. “He’s right. Them having taken Tony is too dangerous.”

“These cells are pretty damn sturdy though, and it’s not like any of us are strong enough to break out right now,” Clint grimaced. “I mean, I agree, but… Have you seen those locks? I’m not bad with picking locks, but I’m not sure I could get through that even if I _did_ have the tools. They’re assholes, but they’re _good_ at this.”

“We might be able to figure out a way to trick them if they come in here?” Natasha suggested.

So for the next while, Steve stubbornly pushed and pulled at the bars on his cell as he listened to Natasha and Clint ‘plot’ a variety of plans that would no doubt not be used. All of them were easy to counter, and the two of them kept pointing out the weak points of the plans, sticking to the exaggerated personas they’d started out with and consistently underestimating their own skills and overestimating their kidnappers’.

In-between trying different ways to break out of his own cells (or rather, trying the same few ways over and over again), Steve tried to figure out if there was anything else to use that their kidnappers might have overlooked, but they seemed well-prepared for keeping in two superspies and a genius inventor, let alone Steve himself. There were six cells, with Tony’s being the only occupied one in the other row, and he wondered if they had initially planned to capture Thor and Bruce as well.

Then, when somewhere between half an hour and an hour had passed, they could hear Tony screaming.

It stilled all of them, leaving them looking at one another with concern. Clint cursed, kicking at his bars and moving to sit in the corner of his cell again. Natasha kept standing, alert, while Steve started pacing.

“What do you think they’re doing to him?” he asked, though he didn’t really want to know the answer.

“Hopefully, not enough,” Natasha replied wryly.

The minutes felt like hours after that, and Steve flinched every time he could hear Tony scream. Had they really done the best thing, sending him in there rather than any of them? Wouldn’t it have been better to perhaps accentuate Natasha’s perceived weaknesses instead? Hell, should Steve have exaggerated the effects of whatever was cancelling out the Serum?

When it finally stopped, Steve hardly believed it at first. “Do… Do you think he gave in?”

Neither of the others replied for a few long moments. Then Natasha spoke up, frowning ever so slightly. “He _might_ have held out for longer than expected?” She didn’t sound entirely certain either.

Still, knowing what he did about Tony (now that he was thinking about it clearly) he doubted they had gotten anything out of him that he didn’t want them to get. The fact that even he had bought into the facade that Tony and Natasha had going meant it was a credible one, but by now they knew one another well enough that Steve realized all too well that Tony’s stubbornness was a match to his own, even if it sometimes showed in different ways. He needed to have faith in his teammate.

Not much longer after the screaming had stopped, the door slammed inwards, revealing a swaying and limping Tony being dragged along by one of their kidnappers. Two more were walking behind them, taser guns at the ready. Again, all of them were masked.

While Clint stuck to the back of his cell, watching things like the hawk he’d been nicknamed after, Natasha remained steadily by the bars of her own cell, while Steve rushed forward to look closer to see what had been done. He reached the bars just as Tony swayed dangerously, banging into the bars of Natasha’s cell and tumbling to the floor as she tried to catch him.

“Get up,” the one holding Tony’s arm growled, pulling him away without even allowing him to get up. With a final heave, he threw Tony into the cell, where the genius curled up into a small ball as he whimpered so softly that it was nearly inaudible.

One of them stayed, taser gun at the ready, while the other two left. Steve didn’t have long to wonder what was going on, since they soon returned with four small boxes. They stopped by Clint’s cell first, opening the first of the boxes and pulling out what looked like three energy bars, though the wrappers had been taken off, and one paper cup of what might be Gatorade. Once Clint had accepted his rations, they went by Natasha’s cell for the same. One more box was for Tony, who hesitantly uncurled enough to take the bars and the cup, though he instantly curled up again after.

Steve was last, and even if he hadn’t been suspicious, he might have wondered at all of this. But he didn’t speak up when they handed him the bars, or the cup of Gatorade. Instead, he watched warily as they exited the room, leaving the four of them alone again.

Even knowing that they were still being watched, the fact that their kidnappers weren’t physically present anymore had all of them relaxing slightly.

Ignoring the food and liquids for now, Steve directed his attention towards Tony. The other man had uncurled a little, although he was still covering up his stomach. There wasn’t much to see below the drab hospital scrubs they’d been given, although it was obvious from the parts that _were_ visible that there must be some bruising underneath. Worse, there were spots of blood that indicated there were open wounds underneath the scrubs. Tony had obviously endured a few punches to the face as well, evidenced by the cut underneath his eye and the bruises forming. Strain was etched in the lines of his face.

“What did they want?” Natasha asked him, covering up her concern to an extent that _almost_ had Steve believing she didn’t care.

“And did you give it to them?” Clint sneered, though Steve could practically hear the unasked ‘ _do you have to go through this again?_ ’. There was a tension to the archer that had very little to do with anger and a lot with concern.

Tony took a few deep breaths, as well as a sip from his cup, before he looked at all of them. “Codes. They wanted the codes to Fury’s new security system.” His voice was hoarse, no doubt from his screaming, and trembling. “I lied - I told them I didn’t know the codes, that Fury had to do the last part himself to make sure it was secure. They insisted there had to be another way in, with the coding, and I told them there wasn’t. But I’m not sure they believe me.”

“You kept a back door,” Natasha assessed, voice neutral.

At that, Tony huffed. “There’s always at least one back door, and they know that. Hell, they’ve _tried_ getting in. But my coding is good enough there is only _one_ back door, and no one is getting into that without a key. Which is what they want to know.”

“Think that’s why they took you despite telling us we could choose?”

“That would make sense.” Natasha nodded at Clint. “But the fact that they knew Tony did the coding is already suspect. That means they’re in pretty far.”

Steve wanted to weigh in, but he wasn’t entirely sure what the best course of action would be in this case. Should they lie and say one of them also knew how to get in? It wouldn’t assure that they wouldn’t take Tony again, but it would improve their chances.

“Does the Director know you’ve got a back way in?” Natasha inquired.

There was a half-shrug, cut off with a grimace when the movement apparently hurt. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t at least suspect it - it’s relatively standard with coding. Please tell me that he’s actually told one of you how to get in so I don’t have to go through this again tomorrow?”

“Not a chance, man,” Clint shrugged. “I’m there to be awesome at shooting arrows, but I’m not high enough up for that kind of clearance.”

“He might trust me, but I don’t know enough about computers yet for something like that,” Steve grimaced, tentatively following Clint’s lead. “Anything more complicated than ‘User Name’ and ‘Password’ is still… A bit much.”

“If it makes you feel any better, he doesn’t trust me enough for that either,” Natasha offered, sounding slightly bitter. “Then again, I’m not sure he really trusts anyone except if forced to, and even then he tries to find back doors into their back doors. But I could lie to them and say that I know, see if I can give you a day’s break?”

Tony nodded, a grateful smile on his face even though they all knew it wouldn’t be happening. “Hopefully by then we’ll have figured a way out of here,” he sighed.

“For now, it’s probably best if we keep our strength up and eat something,” Natasha asserted, which had Steve looking at the rations they’d given him. Yeah, it had most likely been infused with whatever they were using to keep his strength down, since he could feel the difference between when he’d woken up and now.

Although he couldn’t figure out how to get rid of the Gatorade in a way that wouldn’t make it instantly clear he hadn’t drank it, that still meant he’d only ingest a fourth of the stuff if he pretended to eat the bars and hid them in the loose scrubs.

Resigning himself to the hunger pangs, he slowly drank the Gatorade, feeling the effects of it. Careful observation of Natasha and Clint, as well as the area around him, meant he could guess the camera watching them was hidden inside the vent cover up high, since he should have been able to see even a tiny camera with his enhanced eyesight. So he made sure to get himself comfortable facing away from it as he pretended to eat the energy bars. By this time tomorrow, they’d hopefully be out of here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading, and as always, I can also be reached via my [Tumblr](https://eirlyssa.tumblr.com/).


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, filling square A5 - Super Soldier Serum of the Tony Stark Bingo. And yes, I added on one more chapter that I'm hoping to get out there next week. Hope you enjoy!

Night passed slowly, and Steve only slept sporadically. A lot of his time was spent just lying there, eyes closed, as he listened to the breathing of his teammates. Both Natasha and Clint were breathing steadily - enough so that Steve honestly suspected neither of them were really sleeping either. He _knew_ Tony wasn’t sleeping though. His breathing was unsteady, hitching occasionally, and every once in a while he could hear a soft whimper come from Tony’s cell. The scrubs hadn’t given a lot away, and he doubted Tony would, either, but Steve wondered what they had done to the other man.

It was almost a relief when morning came, if only to be able to make some _progress_. That relief actually lasted for a while as, one by one, they were taken out of their cells and to a toilet that had been stripped bare of anything, where they were told they had five minutes to relieve themselves before being taken back. Steve took the opportunity to flush the energy bars they had given him, wanting to make sure they wouldn’t notice anything amiss, and allowed himself to be taken back without a struggle. He might be a super soldier, after all, but he knew to take his cues from the others in this.

Then, just as he was starting to breathe a little easier, they came to take Tony away again.

“Wait!” Natasha called out. “He doesn’t even know what you want to know! You’re not going to get anything from him!”

Just like the day before, however, they ignored her completely, instead dragging Tony out of his cell. Steve, standing by the bars of his own, was just in time to catch the other man as he stumbled and fell over again. He had only a moment to register the extra weight in his hand before Tony was dragged away, and he only just moved his hand in time to make sure their kidnappers didn’t notice.

He watched, frowning, as the door closed behind them once again. Then, with a soft curse for the benefit of the camera, he threw himself to the floor where he knew it would only capture his back, looking at what Tony had handed him.

Two of the energy bars - from Tony’s rations, so presumably undrugged.

Pretending he was putting his head in his hands, he took a small bite from one of them, trying to figure out if there was any change or feeling of weakness like there had been with the Gatorade. None.

As he ate the rest of them, his stomach finally quieted somewhat and that nauseous feeling he’d been having disappeared mostly. Hell, once they were out of here, he would have to make sure to thank Tony. Not just for this, of course, but the fact that he’d saved his own rations to give to Steve just said a lot about the kind of person Tony was.

The screaming started again soon after, and Clint cursed. “We have got to figure a way out of here before they break him.”

“How?” Steve asked him, some of his distress showing in his voice. He knew Tony probably had a plan, and he knew he should trust his teammates, but he _hated_ listening to one of the people he’d come to call a friend being tortured while there was nothing he could do about it. “You thought of every damn plan in the world and then ten more yesterday, and none of them is going to work because they’ve got us separated and they haven’t given us anything to work with. Unless you’ve figured throwing a disposable paper cup at them is going to do anything?”

“The guards wouldn’t even let me get close enough to pickpocket them,” Natasha sighed. “I mean, I could try again tomorrow, but I’m not sure Tony’s going to last that long.”

It was impossible to figure out what the plan was, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that there was one. Something had settled, for lack of a better word. Steve knew it would be utterly impossible to tell if one didn’t know her, but there was a sense of _readiness_ to her that hadn’t been there yesterday.

Clint had clearly picked up on it as well, eyes once again moving around and observing their surroundings carefully.

Testing his strength, Steve punched the bars again. He found himself grateful, once again, for the training equipment that Tony had created for him. One of the machines allowed him to practice _exactly_ how much force he put into a movement, with Tony’s AI including information on the amount of force he needed to break different materials. It had been a way to ensure that he got to practice with both his full strength, as well as regulating it to minimize unnecessary destruction. Right now, though, it also helped Steve determine to what extent the serum was working again.

From the small, nearly invisible dent on the bar, he estimated he had most of his strength back, if not all of it yet. Putting effort into it, he thought he’d be able to bend the bars out of the way or break them off.

Having to listen to the screams of his teammate in the distance, it was difficult to resist simply breaking out and attempt to rescue him. But he knew there were most likely dangers attached to that course of action, and so he stuck with making eye contact with Natasha and hoping that she would be able to tell that he had his strength back enough to get them out when the time was right. The slightly longer blink that she gave him in response had him confident that she had understood.

Unable to do anything right now except _listen_ , Steve alternated between pacing his cell and pretending to break through the bars, feeling his strength return even more as time went on.

He couldn’t help his grimace, hearing another scream, when he considered that Tony might be stretching things to ensure that Steve had enough of his strength back to be able to help out. He wished there was a way to tell his friend that it was enough, that he could give in, that whatever plan he and Natasha had come up with could hopefully be completed.

It felt like days until the screaming finally stopped, and while Steve knew that it hadn’t been longer than a few hours, that was still far too long for his comfort.

Tension rose in the room, all three of them more than ready to start whatever plan there was, and Steve made sure that his concerned pacing had him near the bars of his cell the entire time.

“You think he gave in?” Clint asked, jaw clenching as he looked at the door.

“We all knew it was only a matter of time,” Natasha replied, shrugging. She appeared alert as ever, keeping an eye on the door as well, but Steve noticed the way she had her left side turned towards the entrance just slightly.

Not for the first time, he wondered what the plan was. He just hoped he would be able to respond quickly enough to do whatever they needed from him, though considering he expected that his strength would be an important factor, he felt more than ready. They might’ve kept his strength down, but he’d been ready to punch his way out since the moment he’d woken up.

“Do you think he’s alright?” he asked the other two. Covert ops had never quite been his thing, and the build-up of the tension made him twitchy enough that he _knew_ it must be visible. So rather than trying and failing to fake it, he rambled in an effort to ease his tension at least a little. “He didn’t seem alright before, either, and I don’t know what they did to him, but his breathing was all off. Do you think his ribs are hurt?”

By the time Natasha spoke up, Steve felt almost like he was vibrating with tension. “They might be, but he was still able to walk before. They probably wouldn’t want him to be too hurt, especially since Tony can be useful in a _lot_ of ways. They’d be more likely to badly hurt any of us than him.”

Steve wasn’t quite sure if that was just her hoping they were smart (or stupid) enough to keep from hurting Tony too badly, or if she genuinely thought so. He wasn’t very sure himself, remembering the way Tony had sounded during the night (and the way Tony had sounded during the days, which was even worse). He wondered what they had done to make Tony scream like that, and he couldn’t help but wish they’d taken him instead. Of course, he _knew_ there was a plan, and he _knew_ that he was probably far more useful strong and unhurt, but he _hated_ when people suffered and he was completely helpless, forced to stand aside and do _nothing_ to help.

Hell, it was the primary reason he was Captain America.

When the door opened, he was more than ready to jump into action, waiting only for any of the others to let him know when. Of course, as it turned out, that wasn’t necessary. The moment they walked in, dragging a limp Tony between them, Natasha hit first the left guard, then the right with the back-up shot of the taser Steve hadn’t even realized she had been holding. Tony barely caught himself, grunting in pain, but by then Steve was halfway out of his cell already.

“Throw them out and close the door,” Natasha told him, and as much as he wanted to check on Tony, it wouldn’t do them any good to get interrupted by their other kidnappers. Already, Steve could hear them running down the hall.

He made quick work of the still-twitching guards, slamming the door closed behind them. With gritted teeth, he ripped out one of the bars to Clint’s cell, who was closest to the door, and wrapped it around the door handle so they wouldn’t be able to get it open without some heavy machinery.

“I’ll be right there,” he assured Tony.

To his endless relief, the other man was dragging himself to the empty cell opposite Clint’s, where he could sit upright with some support. “Go get them out, Cap,” he rasped out. He didn’t look alright at all, but at least he was aware.

Channelling his frustration into ripping out the bars to their cells, it didn’t take long before all three of them were gathered around Tony, who was breathing shallowly.

“We got rescue incoming soon?” Clint asked, looking concerned.

Steve knew the feeling - he _really_ wanted to get Tony to medical. The scrubs still didn’t reveal much, and there was no huge amount of blood, but that didn’t mean Tony couldn’t still be severely hurt.

Beside him, Natasha appeared to be trying to assess what had been done without having to ask, but there were a lot of options that didn’t necessarily require breaking skin.

“JARVIS should have... access to this place... by now,” Tony confirmed. His speech was interspersed with gasps, and he was slurring his words ever-so-slightly, but his eyes showed that he was still aware of what was going on. “With how much they... rely on electronics... that’s gonna be... _real_ annoying for them. Should have SHIELD here… soon.”

“Good.” Hopefully, they’d have medical there as well. Then again, if Tony’s AI had access to the electronics in this place, that likely included the cameras, and Steve knew there was one in here still. So he turned to the camera, which was still on, looking straight into it. “If you can hear me - please also make sure there’s medical supplies. Tony’s been hurt.”

There was no reply, so he just hoped the message had been received.

“‘S not… too bad,” Tony gasped out, and Steve _knew_ that look.

“Then you should have no trouble getting checked out,” he replied sternly. There was no way, after this, he wasn’t making sure that Tony was alright.

Clint interrupted, probably in hopes of preventing an argument. “How’d you get JARVIS in here, anyway?”

A smirk appeared on Tony’s face now, slightly vicious and slightly smug, which Steve felt was only fair after everything they’d done. “Fake back door,” he informed them. “A good hacker… can get in there. Not them, though. Right code… also gets you in. ‘S just a fake, though. Get in, JARVIS knows… and can trace back.”

“ _Nice_ ,” Clint told him, grinning as well.

Despite trying to pretend everything was fine, though, Steve could _hear_ how Tony’s breathing was unsteady, and he hoped SHIELD would be there soon.

Unfortunately, when the gunshots started, it was clear they were aimed at the metal door separating them from their kidnappers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it and, as always, feel free to come say 'hi' on my [Tumblr](https://eirlyssa.tumblr.com/)!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue is finally coming... though it's taking longer than Steve would like for it to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, filling square T5 - Anticipation of my Tony Stark Bingo! I hope you all enjoy!

“Shit,” Clint cursed, and Steve couldn’t help but agree with him. “Now what?”

Something crackled, the sound coming from the same direction as the cameras in the vents, and for a moment Steve worried that it was something their kidnappers had done. Then he heard JARVIS’ voice, and relief filled him. “SHIELD agents are approximately nine minutes and twelve seconds out. Your kidnappers are experiencing some technical difficulties, and they have no access to their camera feeds anymore, including this room, but they _are_ trying to get through the door. Unfortunately, there is not a lot I can do to stop them.”

“Will that door hold for long enough?” Steve asked, uncertain.

Both Natasha and Clint were frowning, probably trying to assess it, but Tony was already shaking his head. “Might hold a few more minutes… If they’re jus’ shootin’ at the door in general. ‘F they aim at the hinges… or the locking mechanism… probably not even that long...”

Steve didn’t even bother to question him - Tony knew what he was talking about, which meant they would have to come up with a way to keep their kidnappers from coming in.

“We’ve got the weapons we took off those guards,” Natasha noted, clearly thinking similarly.

It wasn’t a lot, though, especially against an unknown number of assailants. “JARVIS, how many of them are out there?” he asked, trying to get as much information as possible to come up with a workable plan.

“There are currently fourteen of them shooting at the door. I am making them think they have contracted a virus to ensure they will not flee before SHIELD arrives, but that does mean I cannot hinder them to my full capacities,” the AI informed them, sounding regretful. Steve had always marvelled at the way Tony had managed to create a program that had become so _human_. “Though I am prepared to alter my priorities if you should wish for me to.”

Much though Steve wanted to say ‘yes’, he couldn’t deny that capturing their kidnappers was a high priority. They’d gotten quite far, getting all four of them and keeping them for a few days, and letting any of them escape could prove to be dangerous in the long run. “Let’s keep that plan in reserve, in case there’s no other way,” he decided.

Thankfully, the others nodded as well, clearly agreeing. “We can hold them off ‘till SHIELD gets here,” Clint told him confidently. “‘S just gonna take some improvising.”

The room unfortunately didn’t have a lot of supplies that they could use. At least, until Tony spoke up. “Back corner of my cell… Improvised flash grenade, should unsettle them. Just flash, but… should be enough to give you a shot.”

“Brilliant,” Steve told him, Clint already getting up to find it as Natasha was preparing the stun guns they’d grabbed off Tony’s guards. They didn’t have very long before the door would give. “How long ‘till SHIELD gets here?”

“Seven minutes and forty-four seconds, Captain,” JARVIS informed him. “Incidentally, the door has almost been breached.”

“Let’s go,” Clint said, holding what looked like a toilet roll as well as Tony’s empty cup of Gatorade. Steve _really_ wanted to ask if it would work as planned, but they didn’t have time for a lot more talking and, honestly, _Tony_ had made it. Of course it would work.

Flexing his muscles, Steve unwrapped the bar from the door handle, holding onto it in case it would come in useful. By unspoken agreement, Natasha had held onto two of the stun guns while giving Clint the last one, leaving Steve without an obvious weapon. It was how he preferred things to be.

With a silent countdown, Clint opened the door just a little. It apparently startled their attackers enough that their shots stopped for a moment, which the archer took advantage of; throwing the paper cup that had held Tony’s Gatorade to distract them, he soon followed it up with the flash that the genius had created, closing the door until Steve heard the soft _hiss_ that indicated it had gone off, followed by their attackers yelling.

As one, the three of them exited the room, Natasha and Clint firing off their stun guns at the same time and taking down three of the people in front. Steve, still holding the bar, threw it with all his might at the ones standing further back, hitting them straight in the chest and knocking the breath out of them.

They moved forward quickly, aware that the blinding effect of Tony’s creation would wear off soon, Steve in the front and practically _bowling_ into their attackers.

While he focused on taking them out as quickly as possible, with Natasha assisting him where practical, Clint mainly focused on divesting them of their weapons and throwing them back into the hallway.

Already, Steve could hear more footsteps approaching, and the people they were attacking were starting to regain their sense of vision and fight back.

If his calculations were correct, SHIELD was still about six and a half minutes off from reaching them, and Steve was starting to worry if it would be possible to hold their kidnappers off for that long. The hallway was open and empty, making it impossible to set up a proper defensive position, and they still had an injured Tony to worry about. None of the few other doors in the hallway looked more solid than the one they’d been hiding behind - in fact, they appeared to be made of wood, leaving them rather useless.

Perhaps, though… “Clint, check to see if there’s anything behind these doors that can help,” Steve grunted, ducking the butt of a gun aimed for his face and grabbing his assailant’s wrist.

With just fourteen of them, it hadn’t taken them all that long to finish the fight. And so, while Clint was checking out the other rooms to see if there was something useful in there, Steve moved the unconscious bodies out of their hallway while Natasha covered him, shooting at whoever was approaching around the corner so they wouldn’t be able to get closer.

Steve knew this wouldn’t keep working for long, though. As awesome a shot as Natasha was, there were a lot more of their kidnappers, and one good shot with the stun guns they kept trying to hit her with might be all the advantage they needed.

God, why couldn’t SHIELD get there faster?

“Found a supply room!” Clint called from behind them, and that seemed like good news at least.

“Anything useful?” he called back as he picked up another unconscious person, waiting for Natasha’s nod to show that he was alright to throw them without instantly being shot at. So far, while their kidnappers had reverted to their stun guns now that the three of them were out here, they had shown absolutely no hesitation about hitting their fellow kidnappers.

“Possibly,” was the instant reply, a lot closer as Clint ran out of the room, heading down the hallway to the room where they’d been held. “Some crates that could form a good defense, some stuff I could put together, but I’m expecting that Tony - ”

Just as Clint said his name, the genius appeared at the end of the hallway, leaning heavily against the door jamb. “You called?” he rasped out, trying for a grin and only managing halfway.

“You up for some quick engineering?” Clint asked, and while he kept his tone light and joking, Steve could hear the concern in it.

“Always, Legolas.” There was no hesitation in Tony’s voice, and as Clint supported him to the supply room he’d found, Steve turned back to Natasha and the two leftover people on the floor. He was confident that they’d figure something out soon enough, which just meant that he and Natasha would have to hold them off for a bit.

Five minutes and three seconds. That’s all they had to manage before SHIELD would get there.

Once all of their kidnappers had been thrown out of the hallway, Steve turned to Natasha. “I’m gonna go get some crates for defense,” he informed her, waiting for her nod before he rushed into the room Clint and Tony had disappeared into.

How they’d managed, he had no idea, but it hadn’t even been half a minute and Tony was surrounded by screws and wires and who knew what else, hands quick despite his labored breathing. This was the man who, despite torture and a recent chest surgery, had built himself an armor to be able to escape. It was perhaps the first time Steve fully realized the implications of it.

Resolving to think more on that when they were out, he picked up a sturdy-looking crate that appeared to be filled with coffee, which… Well, it was fortunate that it looked like cheap grocery store coffee, or he didn’t think Tony would ever forgive him if he found out. Mostly, Steve was just very grateful it wasn’t anything likely to explode if it got hit with the stun guns.

“Nice,” Natasha approved when he set it down in front of the corner. “Anything else?”

“Tony and Clint seem to be working on some things - can’t tell what it’s supposed to be, though. We only need to hold out for about four minutes and nineteen seconds before SHIELD gets here, though.”

“We can do this.” Natasha sounded very convinced, and while it might’ve been more of an assurance than a certainty, Steve couldn’t help but agree with her. With Tony and Clint busy in the supply room, and Natasha and him guarding the entrance to the hallway, well… Steve did have an amazing team, after all.

So with one more nod, he went off to get at least one more crate. It would help provide them with some cover, which should be enough to have them holding off their attackers, and give the others time to finish what they were working on.

“Not much longer,” Tony assured him when he re-entered the room. He still didn’t sound great, and Steve couldn’t help but worry about the damage they’d done to him, but he was still working steadily.

Then again, by now Steve was well-aware of the fact that Tony would work through _anything_ if he felt he had to. He still hadn’t forgotten the fact that the rest of the Avengers had only found out _after_ a three and a half hour fight that his arm had been broken in two places, or the way Tony had shrugged off his worried rant with a simple ‘hey, I could still use it’.

Was it any wonder he kept trying to check Tony for injuries more than anyone else?

“There’s a crate of those protein bars over here, if you need another,” Clint suggested, pointing at an open crate near him.

“Good plan,” Steve nodded, picking up the crate after taking out four bars, just in case Tony and Clint wanted something to eat. It wasn’t like their kidnappers had done a whole lot to try to feed all of them, after all.

Throwing it down with the other crate, Steve grabbed a few for himself, eating them as quickly as possible. They were fairly dry, and not at all tasty, but his increased metabolism caused him to need all the energy he could get. He could do without, but the nausea and grumpiness meant it was always unpleasant. Even with Tony’s bars, he had been getting increasingly hungry.

Once he’d finished it, he grabbed one of the guns they’d taken off the guys they’d taken out. “I’ll take over for a bit,” he told Natasha, who nodded at him.

Calibrating the stun guns for any of his teammates meant that they wouldn’t do enough to take down Steve, and it had become more than clear that they didn’t want to badly injure any of the Avengers. Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to know why that was, especially since they _hadn’t_ hesitated to torture Tony, though hopefully not in ways that could’ve killed him.

Of course, they’d probably never know exactly what had happened during those interrogations. Tony was far too private to tell them anything, and Steve respected him too much to go looking for answers he wasn’t willing to give.

They’d had a talk a while ago where Steve had requested that Tony admit if there was anything that could influence the way he worked in the field, and he had promised Tony that he would never push for the _why_ of it if the genius didn’t want to say. It had greatly improved their teamwork, and while he might have his suspicions about why Tony needed to be careful around water, he’d never outright pushed for an answer.

He shot at the lights in the hallway - it might not completely make their enemies unable to see, but it could slow them down a bit, which was really all they needed.

Only three minutes and twenty-six seconds before SHIELD got there, and then they wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

“Here’s something to drink, if you want,” Clint spoke up behind him, holding out a bottle of Gatorade. “I can take over for a little.”

“How’s Tony?” Steve asked, putting down the gun and grabbing the bottle in hopes of washing away the taste of the protein bars. While it wasn’t his favorite drink, he did have to admit that the Gatorade didn’t taste bad, and it helped with his energy levels.

Frowning a little, Clint extended the gun and shot one, two, three times, hitting light after light. “Nat’s with him now. I’m kinda worried ‘bout his injuries, but he’s working through it to help.”

“Sounds like Tony, yeah,” Steve sighed.

“We’ll get out of here, and then we’re taking him to medical and not letting him walk out of there until his wounds are taken care of,” Clint asserted, shooting again. “Even if I have to sit on him to keep him there.”

Considering he didn’t seem to be doing great, Steve honestly wondered if it’d be necessary. There was no way Tony would just want to walk around with whatever they’d done to him, right? Then again… “Might want to have Bruce looking at him, then. He’s less likely to run away from a doctor he trusts.”

Clint huffed out a laugh. “True, that.”

Having kept up a steady countdown in his head, Steve just wished time would go a little faster. SHIELD was still two minutes and forty-two seconds out, and he had noticed that their attackers had slowed down. No doubt they were planning something.

Of course, so were they. Natasha slid up behind them, holding what seemed like a bunch of wires around several taped-together bottles of Gatorade. “Tony says to detach the green wire and throw it at them. Whatever he did with it, it should form some sort of gooey shield that’ll hold them off?”

“I love having a genius on our side,” Clint said, grinning widely and taking the Gatorade bomb off Natasha.

Steve rolled his eyes, trying not to grin. As hilarious as the two of them could be, Tony and Clint were a terrible duo most of the time, bickering back and forth and coming up with increasingly weird ideas that Tony, having approximately zero self-control, always insisted on implementing. It was how they’d ended up with Clint’s confetti arrows, and Clint’s purple glitter arrows, and… Well, everyone knew to be careful when the two of them spent too much time together without someone there to keep an eye out, because you could never be certain whether the result would be amazing or amazingly disastrous.

“Here’s to hoping it’s enough,” Natasha commented, though she didn’t seem overly concerned. Steve wondered if Tony was already working on another one, or even something else.

“One, two, five,” Clint counted as he pulled the green wire, a look of unholy glee on his face, before throwing the bomb into the hallway, as close to their attackers as possible.

It wasn’t noisy. In fact, it sounded more like a deflating tire than anything exploding.

And then the cursing started.

Unable to resist, Steve looked around the corner. And promptly burst out laughing.

Beside him, he could feel Clint stepping around to look as well, the archer starting to laugh as well when he saw what Tony’s bomb had done.

Whatever he’d done to the Gatorade, it had exploded all over their attackers, encasing them in some kind of tough slime that they were currently unable to get out of. Just as importantly, they were blocking the hallway from anyone else who would come running in to help them out, which drastically improved their chances of holding out until SHIELD got there in one minute and fifty-eight seconds.

It wouldn’t take long for reinforcements to arrive, of course, so Steve and Clint both stepped back before anyone caught them off-guard. “Well, that’ll help at least,” Clint said, still grinning.

“You two keep an eye out,” Steve told them, “I’m gonna go check on Tony.”

Waiting for both of them to nod in confirmation, Steve walked back into the room where Tony was still working, though the genius looked up when he entered. “Did it work?”

And was it just Steve’s imagination, or did he sound even worse than before? “It worked great - they’re all stuck, and currently in the way of whatever reinforcements they’ve probably called. Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Tony assured him. Still, Steve worried. Usually, Tony would either go the one extreme (‘you are blessed to have me along’) or the other (‘it wasn’t anything, just some basic work’). The fact that this was all the reaction he had genuinely concerned Steve, who couldn’t wait for SHIELD and, more importantly, their medics to get there.

Only one minute and thirty-one seconds more.

“Are you making another one?” he asked Tony, sitting down across from him. If Natasha and Clint needed any assistance, he trusted they would either call or come to get him.

Tony nodded, attaching another wire with hands that were shaking ever-so-slightly. “Yeah. Thought of a few improvements. To help, y’know.” His voice was strained, and he sounded out of breath whenever he spoke. Steve kind of wanted to march out into the hallway and beat up everyone who’d helped to hurt him. “Got some ideas, too. Ooze arrow heads for Clint,” Tony tried to joke.

“Is this gonna be a repeat of the glitter incident?” Steve asked, trying to sound stern and _knowing_ that he was failing to sound anything but amused.

Although it was less enthusiastic than usual, Tony did grin at him. “That all depends on what Clint does with it,” he rasped, trying and failing to look innocent. The two of them were an utter disaster and all of the Avengers loved it.

“I’m sure it does,” Steve agreed, an answering grin on his own face.

Steve watched in silence as Tony worked, still incredibly impressed with everything he could do. Not for the first time, he wondered what it must be like to be that brilliant. Of all of the things he’d discovered in this new time, he couldn’t help but think that Tony was one of the most impressive, though he’d never quite managed to actually tell the man that.

Perhaps, he thought, it would be a good idea to have a talk once they were back to safety, and Tony had seen a doctor to ensure that he would be alright. If nothing else, he wanted, _needed_ to apologize for believing for even a second that Tony would allow any of his teammates to be tortured when there was something he could do about it. After all, they’d been a team for long enough that this was far from the first time that Steve wondered how often Tony considered himself a wire that he could cut in order to keep others safe.

“There,” Tony muttered, setting down another one of his Gatorade bombs. This one, despite having been made in an even shorter time span than the previous one, already looked more elegant, more streamlined.

_Typical_ , Steve thought as he smiled. Tony loved improving things, after all - making everything _better_ than it had been before.

“SHIELD should be here any moment,” he reminded Tony when the other man started working on yet another one, unable to miss how his fingers trembled and his breaths were labored.

“‘S distracting,” Tony muttered, already working on mixing another few bottles of Gatorade with whatever made them as gooey as Steve had seen.

Rather than try to dissuade Tony from working more, Steve only nodded. He understood, after all, that Tony absolutely _hated_ to have to worry about how he was doing. The pain must be a constant reminder, and if engineering was helping to distract him from that, well… Steve had drawn a _lot_ when he was younger and constantly ill.

Instead, he counted down the seconds, keeping Tony company and hoping that SHIELD would get to them quickly.

Finally, he could hear the shouting and fighting that indicated that SHIELD had arrived, right when JARVIS had indicated they would. No doubt the AI was making their kidnappers’ lives a lot more difficult, interfering with anything digital they would try to keep themselves from being captured.

“Took you long enough,” he could hear Clint snarking in the hallway, presumably to one of the other agents.

“We need to get Stark out and to medical as quickly as possible,” Natasha followed soon after, back to the more impersonal form of address for her teammate when around people she was less familiar with. “He can still walk, and I doubt we’ll get him on a stretcher, but he _does_ need medical attention.”

“We’ll get a vehicle to the closest exit,” one of the SHIELD agents confirmed, talking into his comms to relay the information.

Relief filled Steve. “Time to go home,” he sighed, smiling at Tony reassuringly. With no enhanced hearing, he wasn’t sure how much Tony had been able to catch, and he wanted his teammate to know that the danger was over.

“ _Finally_ ,” Tony sighed, though he didn’t sound surprised. Whether it was because he’d overheard or because he trusted JARVIS to know exactly when SHIELD would get there, Steve didn’t know, but at least it was one less thing to worry about.

“They’re bringing a car to the closest exit for us,” Steve informed him, getting up. “You want any assistance getting there?”

It was always risky, offering Tony any assistance, but he honestly wasn’t sure he would be able to walk by himself. Whatever they had done meant Tony was anything but stable, and Steve still remembered Clint supporting him in order to get him to reach even this room. While he wasn’t exactly sure about where the nearest exit was, there was little doubt in his mind that it’d be further away than that.

“Might as well,” Tony responded, though he didn’t sound happy about it. The fact that he didn’t protest against the offer worried Steve more than anything else.

He knew better than to comment on it, though, instead offering his arm for Tony to lean on. If it wasn’t for the fact that he _knew_ Tony would start objecting, he would’ve picked up the genius the moment he noticed how much of his weight he was letting Steve carry.

Stepping out of the room, Tony by his side, Steve was hit by the realization that it was _over_. SHIELD was there, arresting their kidnappers, and they were getting out and to a safe place. The relief was almost overwhelming.

“Car is this way,” Clint said, grinning at them, relief obvious in his eyes as well. Even Natasha, standing beside him, couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Lead the way, Jeeves,” Tony joked in return, sparking a mellow argument between the two of them that had Natasha and Steve rolling their eyes, sharing a commiserating look that didn’t hide the way they were both trying not to smile.

Yeah, they’d be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave a comment or come check out my [Tumblr](https://eirlyssa.tumblr.com/) if you want to!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed so far, and please feel free to come check out my [Tumblr](https://eirlyssa.tumblr.com/) :)


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